The tiny hamlet dubbed "The Smallest Town in America" is now under new ownership!
Buford, Wyoming, population 1, now belongs to two Vietnamese businessman after they bid over $900,000 in an auction for the town, CNN is reporting. That was considerably more than was expected by the town's former lone resident, Dan Sammons, who recently moved to Colorado to be closer to his son. The original starting bid for the town was $100,000.
The auction received international attention, prompting interest from more than 70 countries, after Sammons, who managed the town's liquor sales, hardware store and was also the local hot dog vendor, decide to sell the town. The new owners have not yet been publicly identified and have not divulged any plans for the town, which includes a gas station, a three-bedroom home, and 10 acres near Interstate 80.
Once upon a time, Buford was a thriving small city with a population of over 2,000 people, built along one of the first railway lines across the US. It once hosted such luminaries as Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin D. Roosevelt as well as notorious outlaw Butch Cassidy. After the rail line was shut down, the town slowly faded into oblivion.
Former "owner" and mayor Sammons was nostalgic after the sale. "I felt my time here has been very happy for me, and hopefully the new owner will be able to enjoy what I've enjoyed over the years—conversations with people, the uniqueness of the area and so on—and keep the history alive." He is planning to write a book about the history of the town, detailing his tenure as the city's mayor and lone resident.
